The United States has experienced an increase in crime one year after the defunding campaign saw towns trim budgets and eliminate funding.
Murders have increased by 24% from January; a recent Fox News poll found that more than 70% of individuals believe crime is on the rise nationwide. As a consequence, the balance of power may be shifting back to the police.
Cities such as Baltimore, Minneapolis, New York City, Oakland, and Los Angeles are preparing to reintroduce tens of millions of dollars for the building of new police districts; they will also enhance police department funding, among other initiatives, to combat the rise in crime.
According to the Wall Street Journal, city and county leaders in some of the nation’s top local law enforcement agencies want funding increases for nine of the 12 departments; their next year’s budgets have already been presented, with increases ranging from 1% to 6%.
New Precincts In New York
After the project was canceled last summer, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio declared that the city will restore $92 million for a new precinct.
The action comes after 16 gunshot incidents and five homicides were reported over the weekend. According to crime data from the New York Police Department (NYPD), gunshot incidents in the Big Apple are up 68 percent year to date and over 30 percent in the last month.
7 out of our 8 mayoral candidates in NYC want to defund the police. https://t.co/gFzKdi9VNl
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) June 18, 2021
Following last year’s demonstrations, DeBlasio cut the NYPD’s yearly operating budget by $400 million to $5.2 billion, but will now reinstate approximately half of those reductions. He blamed the first cutbacks on the pandemic’s financial pressures and a need to distribute cash among towns (which have already been restored because of the economic stimulus funds).
Baltimore Will Be Spending More Than Before the Cuts
Baltimore is requesting a $27 million boost in its police budget, reversing a $22 million cut made last year.
Financial rebates and ideas come as business owners experience a drop in profits as a result of crime; some business owners are now threatening to remove tax if their local authorities do not respond.
Defund the police https://t.co/4f9NfNcj7L
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) June 15, 2021
A coalition of 37 Baltimore eateries and small businesses recently addressed a petition to the mayor, city government, and state prosecutor; in this petition, they vow to go on a large tax strike unless city authorities start enforcing the laws and tackling violence, drug peddling, and other problems.
People in Minneapolis launched a legal challenge against the city and its leadership, claiming that both sides fought to maintain residents’ safety during a recent spike in violence. The complaint claims that the city failed to meet a city charter requirement of a minimum number of police officers per inhabitant.
Police forces have been cut, violent crime has not. Just the opposite. Excellent analysis by @sullydish. https://t.co/aixe95IgpU
— Brit Hume (@brithume) June 12, 2021
According to Hu, one Atlanta neighborhood plans to secede from the city and build its own police service to retaliate. According to Bill White, chairman and CEO of the Buckhead City Committee, the decision to separate the Buckhead portion of Atlanta from the rest of the city occurred in response to rising crime and an understaffed police force.
As per White, the separation is supported by 80 percent of the Buckhead community. A referendum on the issue is expected to be on the ballot next year, and a bill permitting it has been presented in the Georgia House of Representatives.
